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He brings the tip to his lips, eyes closed and body shuddering as he licks it clean. “Delicious.”
I sway, blinking away the lust pounding through me as another rush of guests flow into the room.
“Bet you’re happy it’s dark in there,” I rasp, loving the satisfaction his body’s reaction gives me.
“I’ll be happy once we’re finished and I’m buried inside you.”
I lick my lips, and he chuckles, amused by my blatant staring. “Later, I promise. Right now, we’ve got work to do.”
“Right.” I shimmy, shaking off the residual tremors of desire.
With a smooth sweep of his arm, he gestures for the ballroom, and I walk beside him, careful not to let on that we’re anything more than associates.
It’s been some time since I’ve attended an event as high-class as this one. Probably not since years ago, when my father opened Triggerz International and flew us all to London to celebrate Carrie’s accomplishment in joining his team.
Mom made sure I wore some frilly, stuffy dress, and then promptly paraded me around, retelling all her friends the lies about my life.
And maybe I shouldn’t have snuck off during Dad’s congratulatory speech to chug champagne bongs with his senior app developer and his wife, but I’d been rebelling against the image they wanted me to portray, refusing to close the lid on the box they’d put me in.
I can’t deny the anxiety slithering up from those memories, warning me that tonight is just another way for someone to control me. That I’m here as Logan’s pretty arm ornament, expected to sit still and be quiet.
But he shuts my fears down with one hand carefully splayed across my lower back; a discreet gesture that offers much-needed solace to us both.
“People are staring,” I grit through a clenched smile I wish was as convincing as his.
The lights above illuminate his face, highlighting a flirtatious smirk. “Can you blame them?”
His words warm the center of my chest, spreading up my neck and cheeks as we exit the walkway.
Assuming his rigid business demeanor, Logan greets his father’s associates while a woman on stage gives an introductory speech for the evening.
I’m introduced as his assistant to everyone we meet, and my fake name rolls right off my tongue. Except, after a while, something starts nagging at me. It pings like an alarm in the back of my mind, demanding I acknowledge it.
You’ll never be a real couple. You’re only here because Silas isn’t.
I smooth a hand down my throat to calm myself. Maybe we can’t be public with our relationship, but that doesn’t mean we won’t ever be.
Right?
“There’s Ida,” Logan says, evaporating my doubts in a snap.
Behind the woman on stage, Ida and Agán poke their heads out from behind the curtain, scanning the crowd. We wave when they spot us, and Ida gives a thumbs up before they disappear altogether.
We walk the perimeter of the room, stopping before an elaborate canned goods display dedicated to the food bank we’re fundraising for.
“We’ve got an hour before the auction starts. What’s our plan?”
Logan swipes his lower lip thoughtfully. “We need support to make Seaside ours. Which means speaking with contractors, business owners, and media pros. Showing them what Summit Estates stands for and giving them a reason to join us in revamping the area.”
“All right.” I pound my fist into my palm, ready for action. “Where do we start?”
He tugs at his collar as if needing some air. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead, to be honest.”
“I don’t believe it… Are you nervous?”
My arched brow earns a pointed glare. “Cut me some slack. This is my dad’s thing, not mine.”
I purse my lips, surveying the room. “When Mom and Dad would drag me to these kinds of things, I would make a game out of spotting cliques to pass the time. Eventually, Dad caught on and started using my game to connect with people.”
